Steve Wilson

Hampshire start T20 Blast campaign against Glamorgan

James Tomlinson insisted it was the highlight of his career as he turned in a superb dislay on the final day of the season to fire Hampshire to the division two title.

The bearded bowler picked up his best figures for four years with a remarkable spell as he ripped through the Glamorgan batting line-up.

His six-wicket haul dismissed any suggestions of the Welsh club putting up any kind of resistance to the Hampshire march as Jimmy Adams’ side won with a day and a half to spare.

And for Tomlinson, it was his proudest moment in a Hampshire shirt as he finally got his hands on a trophy – having missed the club’s recent one-day successes.

He said: ‘I’ve played a long time and this is the absolute pinnacle for me.

‘I’ve watched all the one-day and t20 stuff.

‘I’ve been really involved in it but I’ve mainly watched because I haven’t played in those formats.

‘So this is my t20 finals day. It’s a great moment.

‘It feels amazing. But it’s been a remarkable effort from everyone.

‘This is my career highlight by a mile.’

Hampshire were in a strong position midway through the encounter at the Swalec Stadium after centuries from James Vince and Sean Ervine had dragged them back from a perilous position in the opening session.

After recovering from 53 for five, they posted 357 all out and then dismissed Glamorgan for 172 in reply.

That gave them a healthy lead and they moved on from their overnight 175 for three to 258 for nine declared in speedy fashion before lunch on day three.

Glamorgan were already in early trouble in their second innings when Tomlinson knocked over the first three batsmen.

And he continued after lunch as he found the ideal line and late swing that was too much for the batsmen to handle.

He looked set to take all 10 wickets as he went on the rampage but was happy to share the load.

He said: ‘I genuinely couldn’t care less.

‘They all wanted me to carry on bowling but I was knackered – physically and emotionally.

‘I knew Woody (Chris Wood) would be there to come on behind me and get wickets.

‘I thought I had it in me but the last over I thought “this isn’t going to happen from this end, so let’s have a change”.

‘Maybe I could have kept going but it was best to get Woody on.

‘I can’t put my finger on why it went for me this time.

‘You sometimes think “what’s it all about?”

‘This game was the perfect example. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

‘You do the exactly the same things all year and try your best.

‘I’ve only bowled okay in the last two games.

‘So did I see it coming? Absolutely not.

‘I was very nervous but I really charged in.

‘Our coach said “all you can do is hit the line as hard as you can and you might get something out of it”.

‘It’s amazing what you go through as the season goes on.

‘For the past few games, I have felt dreadful.

‘I’ve felt nervous with the pressure of it all. I was so desperate for us to go up.

‘Without sounding like a boring old man, you’ve just got to keep doing the same things in every game and it generally comes good.’